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Virtual Object Ray Tracing



Hello,

One more point may be made about virtual image ray tracing in addition to well presented explanations so far.

For the case of light traveling from left to right, a virtual image will be located to the right of an optical device (lens or mirror).

The correct image location can be obtained if we simply ray trace the image of the virtual object as if the light proceeds from right to left through the optical device, but we change the "type" of the optical device; that is we treat a converging lens as if it were a diverging lens (and vice versa) in the "right to left" ray tracing. The same reversal would be done with a mirror as well.

I wrote a note on this with the appropriate math and ray tracing diagrams for TPT a number of years ago. (Vol 29/Number 5 p.275; May 1991)

I hope this helps

Stu Leinoff
Adirondack Community College